The Sovereign
The Sovereign is a private members club located in North Camp, Farnborough. It is primarily a snooker/pool club and sports bar with a poker room joined to it. Cash Games There used to be a list with different games offered, however this seems to of disappeared. The only game I have ever seen running is £1/£2 NLHE. Most people buy in short, so be prepared for some tournament plays. The game usually starts right after the tournament, so around 8pm and one table fills up fairly quickly. The most tables I have ever seen running is two. I'm sure if there was demand for a bigger game they would have no problems spreading it. Not sure about rake or table charge as I have not yet played in this game. All tables are hand shuffled. Wait time There are always people hanging around the main game, so its best to get there early or phone ahead to get on the list. People jump in and out of the game regularly, especially during the 30 min tournament dinner break, so expect some quick action around this time. Poker Tournaments The Sovereignhas a nice selection of tournaments running throughout the week. All tournaments are NLHE and start at 8:00pm unless otherwise stated. Monday - £30 Double Chance Tuesday -£30 Freezeout Wednesday - £50 Deepstack Freezeout Thursday - £20 Freezeout Friday - £40 Freezeout Saturday - 2pm £30 Freezeout Saturday - 8pm £40 Double Chance Sunday - 2pm £50 Deepstack Freezeout 1st Sunday of every month, - 3pm £100 Deepstack Freezeout They also have their own leagues, promotions and tournament series. More details on their website. Atmosphere The Sovereign is located in a nice little village called North Camp just North of Farnborough. Its a very quiet, pleasant area. There is some parking outside the venue, but if you cant find space there is a large car park about 2 minutes walk at the end of the highstreet. The card room is completely separate from the main bar/billiards area so the only noise comes from the poker tables, which are usually quiet except for the occasional bad beat cheer. This is one of the friendliest places I have played poker, with all the regulars being very welcoming to new players. There are less 'serious' players here than other places (most of these players will be in London), so expect more of a pub poker crowd. The standard of play ranges anywhere from terrible to decent. The Sovereign provide a dealer for every single table, which is a nice change for the low limit player. The dealers are not of a professional standard, but are trained very well and are all poker enthusiasts so they are very helpful. Most of them play on their nights off. All the staff are very pleasant and welcoming. There is hot and cold food served, and the card room has its own bar and table service so drinks are very easy to get. My one reservation about the Sovereign are the tables. They are well made custom tables with the Sovereign logo, however 10 players are squeezed around them with the dealer in the middle. This is too many in my opinion. On top of this, they use metal drinks holders which attach to the table under the arm rail, which cramps the table space and your forever worried about spilling a drink by knocking it over with your elbow. There are no tables around, so this is the only option if you have a drink (although I take my holder out and put my drink under my chair for more room). A few tables with wheels and reducing table sizes to 9 instead of 10 would make a big difference. However, these are not enormous problems and the Sovereign is still very playable. Tournament chips are regular clay composite style. For cash games they now have very nice looking Bourgogne Et Grasset.Bud Jones style personalised chips, similar to ones used in Grosvenor Casinos. All in all a very nice place to play and a great alternative for someone looking to get out of London. http://www.sovereignsnooker.co.uk/